138 BIG GAME FIELDS 



The big cat had heretofore returned to partake 

 of his meals in undisturbed peace. But on this 

 occasion it was different. Not for nothing had 

 the scene of carnage been witnessed by a native 

 Indian who happened by that day. So it was 

 that that evening, in the fading glow of twilight, 

 that the birds shifted uneasily among the trees 

 and a troop of loose-limbed black spider monkeys 

 swung hurriedly along overhead. Something 

 seemed to be moving stealthily in the jungle op- 

 posite the pool. There was a faint rustle where 

 the long grass ran into the shadows of the close- 

 set trees and a sound of a dry leaf crushing 

 slowly, as if under the pressure of a soft but 

 heavy footfall. Night was falling. Already a 

 star or two began to show in the darkening sky; 

 and the mournful call of some nocturnal bird re- 

 echoed hollowly through the forests. After a 

 while a stick snapped indistinctly across the nar- 

 row glade, and there was a slight rustling in the 

 trees opposite. In the dim light a shapeless form, 

 as of some large beast, traveled slowly across the 

 open glade, and faded into the shadows beyond. 

 For some minutes there was dead silence. Then 

 a cautious tread again became faintly audible in 

 the loose carpeting of withered leaves ; some grass 

 stems bent very slowly aside, and with infinite 



